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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. fine — all right
  3. game — wild animals
  4. cell — in biology
  5. cell — a phone
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. deal — to handle
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. staff — employees
  11. court — of a king
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. game — a match
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. staff — employees
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. court — for sport
  21. fine — high quality
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. branch — a division
  24. court — of law

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com